Spiderman 4: The Last Stand
by Thedummie2
Summary: Sequel to Spiderman 3: The Legend Continues. In this story, Spidey meets new villains and struggles to maintain his relationships with his relatives. Chapter 17 is up! Current Villains: Adrenaline...also features the Black Cat
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Italics=thoughts.

Bright blue lightning streaked across the midnight sky. The tall, towering skyscrapers seemed to quiver at the roll of thunder that followed. A black convertible filled with four burglars wearing black sweatshirts, black masks, and black hats whizzed past the red light.

"All right!" screamed the man behind the wheel.

"We got it!" yelled the other man as he pulled out a large diamond out of a burlap bag.

"Not only that, but we got past the cops!" screamed another man, who was sitting behind them.

"We should go celebrate!" shouted the man sitting next to him, "What do you say Johnny?" The man behind the wheel nodded. He stopped several blocks away from his favorite bar. The robbers opened the doors of their car and chatted excitedly.

"Man, you should have seen the looks on their faces!" cried the man who had been sitting next to Johnny.

"Yeah, Charlie!" screamed Tom-who was holding the bag. They high-fived each other. Stevie rolled his eyes. As they strolled toward Johnny's favorite café, a woman passed by them. She was wearing a pink blouse and a black skirt that touched her knees. Her blonde hair was tied into a French bun, and her blue eyes gave a subtle contrast to her long, dark lashes. She wore an expensive looking diamond necklace on her neck, and she was carrying a light blue purse. Johnny sneered underneath his mask.

"Boys, you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" asked Johnny. They all snickered and pulled out their weapons. Under the cover of the night, they slowly walked toward the woman.

Johnny walked behind her and placed the knife close to her throat. The blonde gasped. He leaned forward as his comrades came from three sides of her. Stevie, Charlie, and Tom all had bats in their hands. They lunged at the girl with their bats raised, but the girl elbowed Johnny hard in his chest. Johnny grabbed his ribs and stumbled back a little. Stevie charged at her with his bat raised, but she dodged it easily. Charlie and Tom fired their revolvers at her, but missed. Johnny looked up to see her running into the closest alleyway.

"Get her!" screamed an angry Johnny as all four of them ran into the same alleyway.

"Where'd that bitch go?!" screamed Tom as they searched the small alleyway for her. Suddenly, they heard a scream. All of them whirled around to see Charlie's limp body lying on the ground. Standing behind him, there was a tall, lean figure. Blue lightning streaked the sky again, and the remaining burglars saw the light illuminate the figure of a woman, who was standing behind Charlie's sprawled body. She was wearing a leather costume with white high-heeled boots and white gloves. The top of her costume dipped into a low V, and it was trimmed around the edges with white fur. She had long, white hair that flowed to her waist. An exotic black mask covered the area around her hard, blue eyes. She stepped out of the shadows and walked towards them.

Stevie and Tom backed away. Johnny laughed.

"Uh-Johnny, I don't think it's such a good-"said Tom.

"What? Are you guys afraid of this costumed lady?"

Stevie stared at him with wide eyes. "She did-"

"Charlie was always weak. Besides, if we could escape from the cops, how hard can this freak be?" Johnny laughed again. Suddenly, in one quick movement, the black figure leaped high into the air with her fist pulled back. Before Johnny could utter another word, her fist made contact with his skull. The impact caused Johnny to fall in one heap. When she landed onto the ground beside him, she heard footsteps running in the opposite direction. She looked up and saw the other two burglars trying to escape.

She narrowed her eyes. _'I don't think so.' _She pushed her legs onto the sidewalk and flipped into the air again. The burglars skidded to a stop as they saw the black figure kneel in front of them and stand. They saw her blood red lips curl into an evil smile. "Miss me boys?"

"Run!" screamed Stevie. Both ran their separate ways. _'Men,'_ thought the woman. She leaped into the air and landed in front of Stevie. In desperation, he tried to punch her, but the woman had quick reflexes and blocked every one of them. When he threw his fourth punch, the woman's hand reached out and wrapped around his fist.

"AHHHH!" screamed Stevie as he stood there-feeling every bone getting crushed. He tried to pull away, but the woman's firm grip wouldn't let him. Then, before he even realized what happened, she kicked his stomach. Stevie staggered back in fear. He looked up and saw the woman as she pulled her fist back again, and he saw it blur toward his face. In several seconds, the woman was standing on top of another man's body.

'_Can't-can't-'_ thought Tom as sweat poured into his eyes-blurring his vision as panic seared throughout his body. He stopped as he saw that his way was blocked by a brick wall. _'Dead end_, he thought. He turned around, and his green eyes turned large and round as-to his horror-he saw her standing in front of him. He backed away as she kept walking forward. His back hit the wall, and his arms held onto the brick wall behind him-holding onto it for dear life.

"Who are you?" he whispered.

"Your worst nightmare," she said as she pulled out a black, metal device. Lightning flashed again, and a scream pierced through the air as the steel hook made contact with the man's neck. She stood back as the man fell to the floor. As the man hit the ground with a loud 'thud,' she bent down beside the man's outstretched left hand and pulled the burlap bag out of the man's hand. She peered inside to see the diamond flash back at her.

'_Bingo,'_ she thought as she slung the bag over her shoulder. She turned around, and she coolly walked away as the rain began to fall around her.


	2. The Black Cat

'_Where could he be?'_ thought MJ as she walked out of the theater. She had finally gotten a role in another Broadway play, and she was excited. Peter told her that he would definitely show up, but now, the audition was over, and he still wasn't there. _'Unless Spiderman got in the way again.'_ She sighed. She knew that this was the way life was going to be. No matter what, Peter would always place his duty as Spiderman first. And although she loved Peter with all her heart, she just wished that Spiderman didn't get in the way so many times. She was about to walk away when she heard a familiar voice: "Hey, beautiful." She turned to see Peter walking towards her-he looked a little tired and his only suit was a little wrinkled, but the smile that she had come to love was still plastered onto his face. She grinned and placed her arms around him.

"Sorry I couldn't make it," he said as he embraced her, "but the Scorpion was robbing a store downtown." She was only wearing a pair of jeans and her tan coat was open to reveal an ordinary red T-shirt that matched the color of her hair, but to Peter, she looked drop-dead gorgeous.

"It's OK," she replied as she hugged back.

"So, did you get the part?" asked Peter as they let go.

She nodded.

"I knew you would!" beamed Peter as he looked into her twinkling eyes.

"The play's on this Saturday," she replied as they started walking down the street. Peter's arm gently lay on her waist while she snuggled beside him. "You're coming, right?"

"Of course," replied Peter, "I planned it all out: After the play, we could have a dinner at your favorite restaurant. Then we could go to my apartment and spend some time together-I rented some of your favorite videos-"

MJ laughed. It was amazing how Peter could make such a big deal out of something so small. It was just another role in another play. But then again, that was Peter: he had always made her feel special and important-even if she didn't feel that way about herself. It was one of the things that she had come to love about him.

"Tiger, it's just another play."

"No, it isn't: you're starring in it. Besides, I owe it to you."

MJ looked up at him and smiled again. "If you want to, but really, Peter don't kill yourself over this. You have a lot of other important things to do-"

"Nothing's more important than you, MJ."

MJ couldn't help it. She stopped in front of him and leaned toward him. She placed her hand on the back of his head and kissed him. Whenever and wherever they kissed, it was always breath-taking and exhilarating at the same time. It was exciting and terrifying. It made her feel warm all over, but at the same time, it sent chills up her spine. The world seemed to stop, and everything seemed so peaceful, so-And that was when Peter abruptly pulled back. He looked behind him and glanced around.

"Peter?" whispered MJ. She was worried-she didn't know what was going on. The blissful look on his face from a few seconds ago suddenly turned to a look of suspicion and caution.

"MJ, I have to go."

MJ was confused. What was going on?

"Peter-" she repeated.

"Something's wrong, MJ." That's when she knew that it had to do with Peter's alter ego: Spiderman. Peter looked back at her to see her head hanging down, and he knew that she was disappointed. After all, he hadn't been there for her when she needed him: he had missed her first acting gig, he hadn't seen her for almost two whole years, and now, he had missed her second audition. Peter was just so frustrated. No matter how hard he tried, he would never be there for her all the time because of his other life as Spiderman. But he just couldn't afford to risk it. He couldn't afford to not be Spiderman because New York needed him, and he owed it: he owed it to Uncle Ben. After all, it was because of him that Uncle Ben had died violently-and he just couldn't let another innocent person die when he knew that he could do something to prevent that from happening. He held her chin up and looked into her eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly.

"I'll make it up to you-I promise," he whispered. He was relieved to see a smile slowly creep onto her face as she nodded slightly. With that, MJ saw him run off in the opposite direction. She sighed and walked away with her head down and her hands tucked into her pockets.

'_Great, just what I need,'_ thought Peter bitterly as he swung through the night sky of NYC. _'It's bad enough I'm putting MJ through this.'_ He flipped and crouched onto the edge of the roof top. _'Well-it seems like nothing's going on here-'_ Peter turned to hear the sound of loud alarms ringing from a nearby building.

_'Me and my big mouth,'_ thought Peter as he released another web strand. He swung toward the scene of the crime. He finally landed on top of_-'The American Museum of Natural History?'_ he thought, _'Unless someone's a science geek doing a research paper, I don't know why someone would want to even come here.'_ He saw a woman in a tight black costume run below him, and he spotted a large sack in her right hand.

_'Ah-ha,'_ thought Peter as he swung after her. When he was right above her, he let go of the web strand and curled himself into a ball.

_'Great,'_ thought Felicia Harding as she looked behind her, _'Got past the guards. Now, if I just don't run into-'_ She looked ahead and skidded to a stop as she saw a familiar man in red and blue.

"Spiderman," grunted Felicia.

"The one and only," replied the hero as he stood in front of her.

"Butt out," said the woman as she breezed past him. Before she could leave, though, he placed a firm grip on her left arm. Felicia turned around and stared at his hand. She narrowed her eyes and looked up at his white eyepieces.

"Miss, just-"

Before he could continue, she stuck out her fist and landed a hard roundhouse right on his chest. The impact sent him flying five feet.

_'Ow,'_ thought Peter as he slowly got up. He saw her take out a black metal device. It released a cable, and it looked like she was about to escape, but Peter quickly pushed himself against the tree and jumped high into the air. The cable was about to pull the woman up, but Peter stuck his right foot out, and the metal device flew out of her hand.

_'What the hell?'_ she thought as she saw the device fall a few feet in front of her. She turned to see the red and blue hero land a few feet to her right. She lifted her left hand and thrust it forward, but this time, Peter was ready, and he grabbed it. She let go of the bag in her right hand and thrust it at him, but he grabbed it again.

"I don't want to fight you," said Felicia angrily. In fact, she had admired Spiderman for his brave deeds-before this little incident.

"Yeah, that punch that sent me flying five feet gave me that impression," retorted Spiderman through clenched teeth. If Felicia could see under the hero's mask, she would have seen sweat pouring over the hero's head as he, too, struggled against the woman's attempts to break free.

"You don't understand."

"Understand what? What is there to understand? You're stealing-plain and simple."

"I don't have time for this." Even with Peter's spider sense, he couldn't avoid the kick that the woman sent toward his chest. It sent Peter soaring through the air until he hit a large old tree trunk with such force that the tree split in half. Felicia quickly snatched the bag, and with her other hand, she clutched the metal device.

"A word to the wise," said the woman as she glanced at the hero leaning against what remained of the trunk, "Don't mess with the Black Cat." She pushed a red button, which unleashed a steel hook hanging on a sturdy piece of wire. It wrapped around a branch, and she pushed off from the ground and soared through the air.


	3. Surprise, Surprise: Part One

John Jameson took off his helmet as he walked out of the shuttle. He shook his head as his brown hair fell in place. He took a deep breath and smiled. _'It's good to back home on good old Earth,' _he thought. He looked up to see a beautiful blue sky-devoid of clouds. It was a really beautiful day-almost as beautiful as a special someone...

"Hey, John! Congrats!" John turned around to see one of the scientists named Morgan walk toward him. He had messy brown hair, thick black glasses, and hazel eyes. He wore a white lab coat over a pair of black pants. "You got anything new for us?"

"Actually, this rock might be worth examining. It's different from all the other rock samples that we've ever collected." With that, John Jameson held up the plastic bag with the black rock.

"Interesting," mumbled the scientist as he took the bag from John and examined it. "Well one thing's for sure-it is something different. Perhaps the moon was once populated by a complex species, and then some disaster wiped them out. And now, this is the only thing left." Morgan's glowed as he looked up at John with a wide grin.

John laughed. Boy, did Morgan have the weirdest ideas. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Well, at least I got a laugh out of you. I haven't heard one from you in days ever since that incident at the wedding."

"I've gotten over that now. I'm happy for her," replied John-recalling the wedding in every little last detail-even though it had been over a month.

"That's great. I'm pretty sure you'll find someone else, John. Don't worry about it."

"Can we examine the rock?" asked John impatiently. Although he was getting over it, he still felt uncomfortable when someone brought the topic up.

"Yeah, sure," said Morgan-who didn't notice John's impatience. "Just wait a sec." Morgan said as he slipped a small round silver disc out of his white coat pocket.

"Hey, Morgan. Shouldn't we-?" Suddenly, Morgan placed the device in front of John and sprayed him with green gas.

"What the fu-?" exclaimed John. It was too late, though. The gas had entered his nostrils, and by that time, it made his body grow limp. John fell to the ground-with his arms and legs splayed around him. Morgan bent down beside him and placed his index and middle fingers on John's throat. He felt John's pulse and breathed a sigh of relief. He pocketed the black rock and the device into his pocket. Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps and turned to see two scientists and the two astronauts who had boarded with John run toward him. Fortunately, Morgan realized that none of them were suspicious of him-which meant that they hadn't seen him spray the gas in front of John.

"What happened, Morgan?" asked James-one of John's comrades on the trip.

"Well, I don't know. John just fainted. It must have been from the trip or something," replied Morgan.

"Let's get him inside quick," said one of the scientists. The two astronauts each took one of John's arms and hung them around their neck. They quickly walked away. One of the scientists followed, and the other was about to, but he noticed that Morgan was still behind him. He turned to see Morgan with his back turned and staring ahead.

"Hey, Morgan-you coming?" asked the scientist as he turned his head around.

"I'll be there in a sec." The scientist shrugged and jogged toward the others.

If the scientist had stayed behind, he would have seen Morgan tap on a small silver earplug that was hidden from view by his messy brown hair. Morgan pulled out a sturdy black wire that extended to a small black ball that was hidden behind his ear. He placed the ball in front of his mouth. If only the scientist had stayed behind, he would have heard Morgan utter six words that would have made him realize that Morgan was not another ordinary scientist at NASA: "Morgan to the Kingpin-I've got it."


	4. Surprise, Surprise: Part Two

Author's Note: Enjoy! :)

Wilson Fisk was staring out of the window. He was a large husky man with no hair, and no matter what the occasion was, he always wore a white tuxedo with a purple tie. His attire never changed, and people never questioned his motives-ever: for Wilson Fisk was the Kingpin-the most powerful crime lord in the world. He held all the riches in the palm of his hand, and he didn't care how he got them. He would hire useless freaks like the Scorpion, the Rhino, or the Sandman and either disposed of them once their missions were accomplished or abandoned them if they failed. He ordered his minions to steal and if necessary-kill those that got in the way. Not only that, but he sold drugs to children, and he knew that their lives would fall apart, but who cared? Not the Kingpin-that was for certain. Besides, his father had never cared for his well being, so why should he care for anyone else's? In fact, his father thought he was useless. The Kingpin smiled slightly. In the end, though, he proved him wrong. He proved all of them-his brothers, his relatives, his so-called "friends," and his neighborhood bullies-wrong. No one-absolutely no one-got away with insulting the Kingpin. Suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts: "Morgan to the Kingpin-I've got it."

The Kingpin tapped on a device similar to the one Morgan had. "Excellent. I'll-" The Kingpin heard a familiar 'click-clacking' sound against the marble floor of the hallway.

"I'll talk to you later. In the meantime, make sure no one takes it away from you, and if necessary-exterminate the astronaut." He took out the earpiece and placed it into his drawer. He sat on his large black chair and folded his hands together. He finally turned when he heard the door creak open.

"Here, Fisk," replied Felicia as she threw two bags onto his desk.

"Now, now, Ms. Harding-you don't want to make me angry."

Felicia froze at the sound of the Kingpin's words and turned to see him smile evilly. Felicia hated that smile-it made her shudder and boiling mad at the same time. And it reminded her that the Kingpin was the devil himself. She narrowed her icy blue eyes and glared at him.

"Look, Fisk, I only did this because you have someone I want. I kept my end of the deal-now, keep yours." Felicia turned until her back was the only thing that was facing Fisk.

Fisk folded his hands in front of him. _'Who does she think she is? She may be the daughter of a multi-millionaire, but that fact won't save her.' _

"Now, now, Ms. Harding, I didn't say that this was the only-"

"What?!" exclaimed Felicia as she whirled around. She was shaking with fury. "You told me that I only had to do one thing, and I did it. In fact, I did two!"

"Ms. Harding," said the Kingpin, "I said that you had to steal for me. For how long was not mentioned."

"Forget it, Fisk!" exclaimed Felicia as she waved her left arm in front of him, "I killed four people because you wanted me to, and I nearly killed two more. I can't murder anymore. Once was bad enough. And-"

"And in the blink of an eye, I can kill your father," interrupted the Kingpin. Felicia closed her mouth and eyes. He was right, and what it made worse was that she-Felicia Harding-the ruthless, stealthy Black Cat-couldn't do anything about it; she was completely and utterly helpless. She hung her head down and stared at the floor-trying to stay strong. No matter what, she wouldn't-she refused-to show tears in front of the Kingpin. She clenched her fists.

She heard Fisk walk toward her, and before long, she opened her eyes to meet the sight of his shiny black shoes-shoes that reminded her who was running the show. He placed a firm hand on her chin. He slightly squeezed it and moved her face so that her eyes met his.

"Don't try anything funny, Ms. Harding, or else your family will pay dearly. Now you wouldn't want that, would you?" he asked. He smiled and shoved her face away violently. He straightened his tie and suit and walked out-to leave Felicia Harding in the bleak, desolate room. She fell to the floor-her legs refusing to support her-as bitter tears racked her body.

Author's Note: Thanks a lot for your reviews. This might take a lot longer than the first one that I wrote because I have a bunch of villains that I want to include. Not only that, but school's coming up, so that might also slow my progress. And I'd especially like to thank LordLanceahLot for being such a faithful reader/reviewer. Thanks so much. (Don't worry-this won't turn to Felicia/Peter-that plot is getting way too old.)


	5. Just Another Day at the Bugle

Disclaimer: Sorry, forgot to add this little thing in the first chapter. I don't any of the characters, except for the characters that my brother made up-that belongs to him. OK, continue.

'_What a headache,'_ thought Peter as he slowly walked inside the building of the Daily Bugle. The force of the kick from last night still made his ears ring, and his backache. After that encounter with the "Black Cat" last night, he had swung into his apartment and called MJ. He knew he had just met this Black Cat character, but ever since MJ's near death experiences, he called her just to make sure she was safe. Then he called Aunt May for the same reason. Not only that, but he stood up late (again) writing his paper on the curves of quickest descent for Dr. Connors. Peter had handed in all of his papers days late, and he knew that he needed to hand this one in on time if he wanted to pull his grade up. But because of that, he got to class late. Fortunately, he didn't miss class-like many times before-but he was still a whole 50 minutes late, and the class was going to be over in 10. Even handing in his paper on time didn't erase the grim expression on his professor's face. Now, to make matters worse, he had a huge headache, he was heading for another day at the Bugle with Jonah, and he didn't bring an umbrella-which meant he was getting soaked right now as the rain poured down. _'This is gonna be another long day.'_

Peter sighed and walked toward the desk of one of his best friends at the Bugle: Betty Brant. Her short, black hair hung around her moon-shaped face. She was wearing a white blouse with a simple black skirt.

"Hi, Betty," said Peter with a slight smile.

"Hey, Pete," she said as she looked up and smiled widely. She noticed Peter looked really horrible-he had dark circles under his eyes, and his usual upbeat attitude seemed to be nonexistent. His navy blue long-sleeved shirt and loose-fitting jeans had some stains, and he was soaked to the skin. "Are you feeling OK?"

"Yeah," said Peter, "Nothing a little Advil can't cure."

"So, who did Spidey face off yesterday?" asked Betty as she stopped typing and looked up at Peter's confused face.

"He just had an encounter with the Scorpion."

"The Scorpion, huh?" asked Betty as she leaned against her chair. "The police think that he's working for the Kingpin."

"The Kingpin?" asked Peter with a quizzical look.

"The most powerful crime lord in NYC," said Robbie Robertson as he walked toward them. Robbie Robertson was another of Peter's best friends at the Bugle. He was slightly chubby, but what he didn't have in looks, he made up in personality. He was really considerate of others and very supportive of Spiderman.

"He hires other people to do his dirty work for him. I'm surprised you haven't heard of him," said Robbie as he folded his arms across his chest. "Have you been living under a rock, Peter?"

"I've just been...really busy lately."

"There's that same excuse again. God, Peter, what do you do all the time? Swing around the city like Spiderman?" asked Betty as she rolled her eyes.

Peter had to smile at that comment. "No, but..."

"Anyway," interrupted Betty, "Remember the Rhino?" Peter nodded. _How could I forget? _thought Peter grimly-remembering the stitches on his chest that he had acquired after the battle two weeks ago. "Well, he's one of them. They think that the Scorpion was working for the Kingpin too."

"Don't forget the Sandman," added Robbie, "Remember that attack on Spidey at the gas station a year ago? That was a pretty rough one."

"Wow...I really have been living under a rock. All of those guys were working for this Kingpin?" asked Peter. Robbie nodded.

"The police got a confession out of the Rhino two days ago, but he still won't admit _who_ the Kingpin is. They didn't get one from the Scorpion because they just got him, and you know what happened with the Sandman."

Peter slightly nodded. He remembered how close to death he was during that battle a year ago. He was lying face down on the floor, blood was in his mouth, there were cuts on his chest, arms, and legs, and fire surrounded him everywhere. He remembered that the battle had occurred right before a huge thunderstorm. The Sandman was so bent on destroying him that he failed to notice that there was a cable ahead of him. Peter recalled screaming at him to stop, but he wasn't listening. He stepped on it, and what made it worse was that a lightning bolt hit him at the same time. The heat from both was enough to turn him into a glass statue. Peter had never felt such a feeling of helplessness and despair since the day the Green Goblin died-what made it worse was that he couldn't tell anyone about the incident at the time because MJ didn't know his secret. And finally, of course, to make the misery complete, Jonah came up with another article claiming that Spiderman was somehow supporting the Sandman.

"Well, it doesn't matter who the Kingpin is," interrupted Robbie as Peter snapped out of his memory, "because the authorities won't look for him. They're too afraid, and honestly, who can blame them? If you tried to threaten the Kingpin, he'd send his minions out to hunt you down, and trust me-it wouldn't take long. It's like the Molintinas, you know? Everyone knew they were part of the Italian mafia and people knew what they were doing, but the police didn't get them until they were at they're weakest. That's the same thing they'll do with the Kingpin. By that time, though, someone else will replace him, and the cycle will start over again."

Peter nodded-even though he wasn't listening. Instead, he was deep in thought. _Could there be a connection between the Kingpin and the Black Cat? She did say that she 'didn't want to fight me...' " _

Suddenly, they all heard a loud shout.

"PARKER!"

"Oh great," he muttered as his lips turned into a small scowl.

"Good luck," whispered Betty with a wink.

"You need it," said Robbie.

"Thanks," replied Peter as he strolled past them and walked into Jonah's office.

"Where are the pics?" asked Jameson gruffly as Peter sat down on a chair across from him. Jonah lit another thick cigar and blew the smoke into the air. Peter had gotten used to the smell by now. Peter noticed, though, that the usual alertness and stubbornness in the journalist seemed to be replaced by fatigue. He realized that MJ's quick decision must have caused some bitterness and turmoil in the Jameson household. For a second, Peter felt slightly sorry for Jameson-just for a second, though.

"Well?!? I don't have all day, Parker!" he barked.

Peter quickly handed JJ pics of his recent encounter with the Scorpion.

"This is all crap. What did you do? Pose for them?" asked Jameson as he angrily placed the pics on his desk.

'_Actually,'_ thought Peter, _'I do that everyday.'_ Instead, Peter just kept his lips shut as he heard Jameson drone on.

"I'll give you $50."

"$50?!?" exclaimed Peter. Even for Jameson, that was way too low. "Mr. Jameson, that's-"

"All you've given me lately is crap these days, Parker. All these pics of ordinary robbers and bank heists-"

"Mr. Jameson, the Scorpion isn't an ordinary robber. He is a little-"

"He's not as bad as Dr. Octopus or that Green Goblin freak. Whatever happened to those guys?"

"Mr. Jameson, Dr. Octopus is under arrest right now, and the Green Goblin disappeared-"

"Not only are these pics crap, but they look they've been shot from the same place. You can't do that. An expert photographer is supposed to take pics from different angles."

"But, Mr. Jameson-"

"No buts," said Jameson angrily as he quickly grabbed a pen and scribbled on the voucher. "Here you go. Now scram."

Peter wasn't going to back down so easily. "Mr. Jameson, I'm getting married in two months. Couldn't you-"

"Aw," said Jameson bitterly, "would the young groom like a little flowers to go with his pay check?" Peter noted that Jameson's tone was a lot harsher than normal. _'If that's even possible,_' thought Peter.

"Mr. Jameson, please, could I at least have $250?"

"I don't have time for this Parker. Besides, you'll get paid again this week. My son's coming to the Planetarium again on Sunday."

"But Mr. Jameson-"

"Fine. I'll give you $150 for your nagging-Now leave before I lower it by half." Jameson grabbed the voucher out of Peter's hands, quickly scribbled on it, and handed the slip of paper back. Then he waved at Peter to tell him that he was dismissed while he grabbed the phone with the other hand.

Peter angrily stormed out of the office with his voucher in hand. _'At this rate, I'm going to marry MJ by the age of 50,'_ he thought bitterly as he walked toward Betty's desk. Robbie looked up at Peter and saw his dismayed expression.

Betty looked at the voucher and whistled slightly. "Wow, Jameson must have been tough on you today."

"Yeah," replied Peter bitterly.

"Don't worry, Pete. Jameson's had a couple of bad months ever since his son's wedding," said Robbie as he patted Peter on the back. That's when Peter remembered the comment that Jameson had made: _"Aw, would the young groom like a little flowers to go with his pay check?"_ Peter groaned: Jameson knew who his fiancée was. He was going to avoid telling him, but it apparently leaked out.

"What's wrong?" asked Betty as she turned to see Peter cover his face with his hand.

"Remember my engagement?" Betty and Robbie nodded.

"Well...I didn't tell anyone who my fiancée was..."

Betty's jaw dropped. Robbie looked at Peter with surprise.

"Don't tell me it's-"

Peter slowly nodded before Robbie finished his question.

"God, Peter," said Betty-shock written all over her face.

"But, it's not like I forced her into it...She-"

"No, no, I know you wouldn't do anything like that. But I just feel bad because Jameson's gonna give you a hell of a time," said Betty.

"Yeah..." replied Peter with dread. He didn't notice Betty and Robbie exchange quick smiles at each other. Betty handed Peter his check. Peter looked at it and started to hand it back to Betty.

"Uh, Betty-I don't know if you didn't notice, but the check says $1500. Jameson would never give me that much."

Betty put a finger to her lips and smiled as her eyes tinkled mischievously.

"It's our way of saying congrats to you, Pete. We're glad that you've finally met the right girl," replied Robbie.

Peter shook his head. As much as he wanted it-as much as he needed it-he just couldn't accept it. He tried handing it back to Betty, who placed her hands in front of the check. He did the same with Robbie, who crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Don't worry. I've done it several times-he won't notice," said Betty.

Peter shook his head. "No, I really don't-I mean-"

"Peter," said Betty firmly, "You either take it, or I'm going to do a little shopping this weekend, and the first thing on my 'to-buy' list is a stick to beat you with if you try to hand that check back one more time." Peter smiled.

"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," Robbie said, "Oh, and Peter-"

He turned to see Robbie hand him an umbrella. "You might need that."

"Thanks again," said Peter as he grabbed the umbrella and headed out. And although he knew he shouldn't be celebrating after meeting the Black Cat, he couldn't help but feel a little more optimistic as he walked out of the headquarters of the Daily Bugle.


	6. Suspicions

John Jameson woke up to see his worried colleagues watching over him. He tried to sit up, but he felt nauseous and quickly laid back down.

"Easy, buddy," said James. He had a lean build with black hair and brown eyes. He was usually the quiet type, but John had easily made friends with James. In fact, James was one of his best friends at NASA.

"What happened?" asked John groggily as he placed his hand on his forehead.

"Morgan said you passed out-is that true?" asked James, "That's not like you, John."

John scrunched his forehead-trying to remember what happened, but all he could draw was a blank. John slowly nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. I can't remember anything else."

"You sure?" asked Jim-his other friend. He looked similar to that Olympic swimmer-Michael Phelps. The only exception was that he had black hair instead of brown. John vaguely remembered talking to Morgan, but he didn't know what. He also had that strange feeling that he was missing something. _But what? What am I missing?_ John just nodded again. He guessed he just didn't feel great right then and there.

"Hey, John, are you OK?" John turned to see Morgan.

"Morgan, do you remember what happened after I got off?"

"Yeah, we were talking about the-uh-little wedding thing, and then, you just fainted."

"Are you sure?" asked John, feeling odd. Something just didn't **feel **right. It was as if Morgan was holding something back.

Morgan nodded. "What? You don't trust me?"

"No, no, it's not that," replied John quickly. "Look I just need some rest, right now."

"Hey, don't forget that you have to get to NYC by Sunday. Today's Friday. You've gotta book a flight tomorrow," said James.

"Don't worry." They all turned to see Morgan. "I gotta go to NYC by Sunday, too. I'll book a flight for both of us."

"No, it's-"

"That'd be great, Morgan," interrupted Jim.

"All right, I'll see ya then." Morgan left while Jim and James turned back to John.

"I don't like him," said John with narrowed eyes. "Something's not right about him...I just can't place my finger on it."

"Oh, come on. He's a nice guy. A little clumsy and kinda quiet, but other than that, he's cool," replied James, "Besides, you've been getting suspicious about everything ever since that little wedding incident."

"I hate to admit it, but James' right on that one. Come on, Morgan's just another scientist. What would he do?" asked Jim.

"Well, there was another scientist back home-"

"Morgan's not crazy," interrupted James, "He's not obsessed with his work either. Don't worry. Geesh, John, living in the city has really gotten to you. Maybe you should stay in Florida more often."

"Just get some rest. You've got a long weekend ahead of you. We gotta run-we'll talk to ya tomorrow," said Jim as he started to head out with James following close behind.

"Yeah, see ya," replied John as he watched them leave. He closed his eyes, but he couldn't sleep. What was it about Morgan? Was it his attitude, his appearance? Something in John's brain told him that Morgan was up to no good, and whatever it was, he had to find out.


	7. Just Perfect

"And I love you all!" exclaimed the mother as she hugged her three daughters. One of them included a young woman named Mary Jane Watson, who was starring in the critically acclaimed Broadway play, "Little Women," as Jo-the second eldest sister, and to MJ, the outsider of the family. Jo was tomboyish and an eloquent writer. Jo's unique status was what drew MJ to the part, and as she took her bow along with her fellow peers, she saw the love of her life standing up and clapping. She beamed. For once, Peter had finally made it to the play on time.

The curtain closed as she saw Peter slightly wave at her. She quickly rushed to the back.

"Whoa, you're in a hurry," said one of her friends, Madeline. MJ turned to smile as she went into the dressing room.

"Yeah, well, someone came tonight."

"Must be someone really special to get you so worked up."

_'You have no idea,' _she thought. Several seconds later, she emerged from the room with her black coat on and said a quick good-bye to Madeline. She pushed the door open and saw Peter waiting there for her.

"You were great, MJ," said Peter as he placed his arm in front of him. She looped her arm around his and smiled. She leaned on his shoulder, and they began to walk to his apartment.

"Thanks," replied MJ. She just wished this moment would never end. They walked in silence for the rest of way-just content in being in each other's arms. Peter stopped in front of his apartment and let go of MJ's arm.

"Wait here," said Peter as he entered his apartment. MJ stood there as she patiently waited for Peter to come back out. _'Now what is Peter up to now?' _thought MJ as she heard Peter yelp suddenly.

"Peter, are you all right?" asked MJ. She was about to open the door, but Peter came out of it before she even reached for the handle. She noticed that his hand was wrapped in a white bandage.

"Peter," said MJ with a worried look on her face. She reached for his hand, but Peter pulled away.

"No, really, MJ. It's fine. Just close your eyes, OK?"

"Peter," said MJ as it dawned onto her what he was trying to do. Her worried expression softened. "You're so sweet."

"You haven't seen anything yet," said Peter with a wide smile, "Just close your eyes." She obeyed and closed them. She felt Peter's arm push her slightly into the room, and sweet aromas came wafting to her nose.

"OK," said Peter as he stopped pushing her, "You can open them."

MJ quickly opened her eyes, and she couldn't believe them. His little, dingy apartment had transformed into something out of a five star restaurant. The walls were covered with red velvet. The windows were covered with burgundy curtains. The one window that was open revealed a beautiful view of the city. Near the window, there was a table with two silver plates covered with upside down bowls, two champagne glasses, and two pink candles illuminating the dim room. Rose petals surrounded the table in the shape of a heart. She covered her mouth and turned to see an enthusiastic Peter beaming down at her.

"Shall we?" asked Peter as he waved his arm in front of her. MJ walked toward the table, and Peter quickly followed to pull the chair for her. She sat down as he walked past the table and turned a small black radio on. The lyrics to MJ's favorite song: Alisha Key's '_If I Ain't Got You'_ began to dance into her ears as Peter went back to the table. He saw MJ lift the lid to reveal her favorite Italian dish. She looked up with a smile.

"Peter," said MJ as she observed the room with twinkling eyes, "this must have taken you hours."

"Uh...actually, it took a day and a half, but it was worth it," said Peter with a shrug, "I told you that I'd make up it to you for missing your audition."

_Some people want it all,_

_But I don't want nothing at all_

_If it ain't you, baby_

_If I ain't got you, baby._

_Some people want diamond rings,_

_Some just want everything,_

_But everything means nothing_

_If I ain't got you_

_If I ain't got you with me, baby._

_Oh, oohh, nothing in this whole wide world_

_Don't mean a thing_

_If I ain't got ya with me, baby._

"Tiger, you never cease to amaze me," said MJ as she shook her head. She reached for his hand and clutched it tightly. Peter leaned his forehead against hers, and before long, her lips locked onto his and turned into a sweet kiss. And although Mary Jane knew that these moments would be sweet and few-even though she knew that she had to get up early tomorrow to talk with her agent-her worries were a world away. For now, everything was perfect: from the music, to the dinner, to the sweet kiss that they were sharing now. And for the first time since their engagement, the world let them stay that way.


	8. A New Danger: Part One

Brendan was staring out of his small apartment complex. He was lean and tall with a small mop of brown hair. Green glasses rimmed his large, puppy dog violet eyes. The room he was standing in looked like something out of a 19th century painting. It had cozy armchairs, and exotic plants covered every inch of the room. A large fireplace was in the middle, and the fire's merry crackles sent soft shadows onto the green walls. The only thing that might have caused some eeriness was a large mask hanging up in his room. It was a simple black mask, but its features were so defined. It had a wide snarl that revealed sharp fangs. Its eyes were narrow and revealed the face of a madman-as if it was bent on revenge.

Looking at the room made people think that Brendan was a polite, timid businessman who lived a happy little life in Manhattan, but that mask revealed the soul that was hidden underneath all that fancy, schmancy attire.

His mother had given him up for adoption when he was just a baby, and he never knew discovered-nor did he try to discover-who his parents were. He moved from foster home to foster home-unable to remain in one because of his odd behavior. He wasn't a troublemaker, but he wasn't the greatest guy to hang around with.

He eventually settled down and had a family. He had a nice, pretty wife, and his teenage son-Matthew-was exceptional: brilliant, good-looking, popular, athletic. He wasn't rich, but he lived comfortably in Manhattan with a small business downtown.

His life came crashing down, though, when he saw his wife cheating on another man. He went ballistic, and if his son wasn't there to stop them, he swore that he might have killed her. They filed a divorce the next day, but his son didn't take it well. Matthew started to take drugs and hang out with motorcycle gangs.

Brendan tried everything he could to stop Matthew from destroying himself, but they just wound up getting into arguments, so Brendan just stood by and watched his son wander further and further away from him.

Then one day, when he came home after a terrible day at work, he learned that his son was murdered by the same person who stole his wife away from him. The police told him that the man was 'another drug dealer,' who was working for the Kingpin.

He remembered the long nights he spent after that drinking and crying himself to bed. He remembered his business filing for bankruptcy, and the inevitable fate that followed. He remembered traveling from shelter to shelter day after day. He vowed that even if it took him his entire life, he would kill the Kingpin for what he did. He searched and searched, and he finally found out from numerous detectives and sources that the Kingpin was Wilson Fisk.

Boy, did that send him a shock. His last name was Fisk, too, and that's when he finally learned after weeks of research who he was: the youngest son of Nelson Fisk and Shirley Carleque. In short, Wilson was his eldest brother.

That was when he started to build his own little crime ring. He spent his entire life doing the right thing, and what did it leave him with? A wife who cheated on him, a dead son, bankruptcy, homelessness, and an alcoholic.

Ever since he opened his little crime ring, he felt powerful and respected. Although there were numerous things that he ordered his workers to do, his initial goal didn't change. He still wanted vengeance, and even though it was taking him a long time, he was slowly climbing up the ladder of infamy. His crime ring started with three people-now it included more than a thousand criminals and drug dealers.

He was surprised how easy it was to infiltrate his brother's headquarters. He had several spies around, and they informed him that the government was funding a wide array of outer space missions. Apparently, one of their astronauts came home from the moon with an odd black smudge on his uniform two years ago. It was discovered that the "smudge" was an actual living thing. In fact, it was an alien symbiote-capable of increasing the strength of an ordinary human being by tenfold. They wanted more samples, so they sent more missions, but so far, they had come up with nothing. The government was doing this all behind the backs of their citizens-no one knew anything about this-well, almost no one.

His brother eventually heard about it and believed that if he got his hands on just one of those samples, he could duplicate them and create a massive army-enough to eradicate anyone who got in his way. Brendan smirked. His big brother didn't realize, though, that someone was listening to the whole conversation with a special device that he-Brendan Fisk-had made. Once Brendan heard about it, he knew that he had to beat his brother to it, and so far, his plan was going along perfectly.

Author's Note: I know that these past chapters aren't so great, but I promise that action will come soon. The character in this chapter-Brendan Fisk-was my brother's idea, and I decided to use it in this fan-fic. 'Give credit where credit is due,' I say. So I'm just giving credit to him for his character. For this fic, in addition to the traditional Spidey villains, I will add a couple of others that my brother has come up with because I really think they're cool ideas. Again, thanks to my reviewers. If you have any ideas for future chapters or any future villains or heroes that you'd like to see in the future, please tell me.


	9. What Next?

For once, Peter wasn't the first one to be out of the apartment. When Peter woke up, MJ was already heading out the door. She told him that she had to talk to her agent, and even though Peter had a ton of homework to do, he decided that it was a really great day to go outside and take a swing, so he slipped into his Spidey costume and flew out the door.

Just as he let go of his web strand, the world around him slowed to a crawl and that ever-so-annoying tingling began to warn him of something amiss on the street below.

Spiderman looked down to meet a wild car chase. He saw a black car make a sharp right turn and a red car not far behind. Several police cars with wailing sirens raced after the speeding car. Pedestrians quickly stepped off the street and ran back to the sidewalk.

He dived for the ground below, and with great precision and accuracy, he landed on the hood of the Beatle.

Spiderman quickly crouched onto the roof and looked in through the window. There he saw a man with brown hair and thick black glasses quickly swiveling the steering wheel. Next to him was John Jameson, who looked extremely nauseous. The driver was so focused on the task at hand that he didn't even notice Spiderman until he asked, "Shouldn't you buckle your seat belt? You don't wanna get a ticket now, do you?"

The driver quickly turned, and instead of raising a gun, he raised a silver card.

"So you wanna play 'Go Fish?' " asked Spiderman. The driver angrily flung the card at him, and oddly, his spider sense was screaming at him to get out of the way. He quickly raised his head up, but the card was close enough to cut his arm.

"Aggh!" Peter cried as he drew his arm up. Before he could even examine the cut, cards came flying up through the car's roof. He quickly shot a web strand and bounded onto the closest brick wall.

'_What were those...?' _More cards flew toward him, and Spiderman quickly bound from one wall to another. When he glanced back, he noticed that the cards were still stuck to the walls.

He landed back onto the roof of the Beatle, but his spider sense told him that something was wrong, and he turned to see a mother and her infant on the street-trying to get out of the car's path. There was no time to web-sling them away. Without thinking, he quickly crouched to the side of the car and reached for the steering wheel. The driver threw another card at his arm, and the pain caused Spidey's hand to slip, which in turn caused the steering wheel to turn in the opposite direction-the car was heading straight for the mother and her infant.

"You've really pissed me off, web-head!" screamed the driver as he raised another card. Before he could throw it, Spiderman punched him square in the face. The driver dropped the card, fell onto his chair, and grabbed his nose-which was now spewing out blood.

"TURN THE WHEEL!" Spidey screamed at John. John Jameson-who seemed to have regained his composure-lunged for the wheel and quickly swerved it-avoiding the mother and the infant by mere centimeters. All of a sudden, there was a loud 'BANG!' Spiderman turned to see a woman's head sticking out of the red car behind them with a gun in her hand. The bullet punctured one of the back wheels. The car began to swerve uncontrollably, and underneath his mask, Peter's eyes went wide as the car headed for a crowded supermarket.

Spiderman quickly raised his two hands, and in the blink of an eye, a large web-suspended in the air by two lampposts-appeared. The car collided, and the web held it back-preventing it from crashing into a huddled group of frightened civilians. Peter breathed a sigh of relief as he flipped onto the hood of the car.

He heard the sound of metal banging against metal and saw the driver running out. He heard another similar sound and saw the woman in the red Toyota run after the driver. He was about to chase after them when he heard the sound of screeching tires. He turned to see two police cars that had just entered the street. More screeching tires, and in seconds, a dozen officers were out of their cars and aiming guns at his head.

"Hands up, Spidey!" screamed one of the officers.

It was just unbelievable-here he had just saved these pedestrians, and he was STILL being treated like a common criminal?!?!? Realizing that it was hopeless to hold a sensible discussion with the boys in blue at the moment, Spiderman quickly shot a web strand.

"Sorry, guys, but I gotta run!" He swung onto a rooftop as he heard bullets firing off in the distance. He was about to swing to the next one when another card whizzed by his head. He tried to spot the source, but whoever had thrown it was nowhere to be seen. Peter quickly fired a web line toward it as he landed onto the roof. It caught onto the card, and Peter quickly pulled it toward him. He pulled the web strands off the card and examined it. It was a steel card with incredibly sharp edges, and instead of the normal hearts, aces, spades, or clubs, it had an image of a guillotine.

"Weird...it's almost like a signature card," mumbled Peter. That's when he remembered the cuts that he had acquired. He quickly examined them, and although the stinging had substantially subsided, he realized that he was going to need stitches.

'_What next?' _thought Peter grimly as he absent-mindedly shot a web strand and swung away.

Author's Note: Sorry, it's been a long time I know since my last update. By the way, I know a lot of you will be really annoyed, BUT I changed the "Just Another Day at the Bugle" chapter. You don't have to reread it again b/c the changes are really minor. The only change was that Felicia is NOT kidnapped. She's the Black Cat, and she still works for the Kingpin, but the most important thing to know is that she isn't kidnapped b/c that changes the whole direction of the story. All right, I know this chapter is short, but I hope you like it, and I really hope that it had a good amount of action. I get the feeling that I should change the genre to drama. That's the direction that this fic seems to be turning toward. I actually finished the next chapter. I just have to check it for spelling and grammar mistakes. Thanx again for any reviews. (To jjonahjameson: You'll see if Mysterio comes up.)


	10. Pale Green Walls

Brown hair flew past the woman's dark face. She quickly brushed it away as she ran after the driver. She started shooting at him, but to her surprise, he was a damn fast runner. The driver-known as a NASA scientist named Morgan-began throwing a stack of cards at her wildly. Some of them were ordinary cards that he had flung at Spidey while others were miniature bomb-like devices that gave off tiny explosions once they made contact with any solid object. Despite this, the woman was still able to remain calm.

She aimed more bullets, but they hit the corner of a brick building. She saw Morgan ran into a dark alleyway. She quickly turned, but no one was there. The only thing she saw was the last of Tarot's cards flying high into the air. It was one of his signature moves-it meant that he had successfully completed his mission. She angrily thrust her gun onto the sidewalk and pulled out an old-fashioned walkie-talkie.

"Jan to Fury-Tarrot escaped."

* * *

Morgan breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the familiar dark room. The room was dark and surrounded by oddly shaped jars and urns. He wiped his bloody hand onto his jeans and quickly pulled out a tissue to cover his nose. He silently cursed at Spiderman. A single fireplace was in the middle, and the crackles cast soft shadows onto the room's pale green walls.

"Ah...Tarrot," replied a cold voice. Morgan turned to see a tall, lean figure with a sleek wooden cane emerge from the shadows. Brendan Fisk's violet eyes narrowed into thin slits. "You're late."

"Well, I wouldn't be late if you had pressed the button for the teleportation device earlier. Not only that, but Spidey and this woman from SHIELD interfered."

"That doesn't make a difference. You're late," stated Brendan as he stared down at his Rolex watch.

"Look, I know you wanted it at 3:00, but come on, chill out. Cut me some slack-I got punched in the nose. Besides, I'm only one minute late," replied Morgan as he stared at the clock behind Brendan, which confirmed his statement.

"Tarrot, I gave you those cards for a reason. I gave you that robotic arm of yours for a reason. You were supposed to bring me the symbiote by 3:00."

"Come on. The mission was still a success. I risked my ass to get what you wanted-not to mention that I could have gotten crushed to death by the Kingpin," said Morgan as he flashed the bag in front of Brendan. Brendan didn't move, though. He just continued to stare at Morgan.

"That doesn't matter. When I want something at 3:00, I want it at 3:00. Not a minute later."

"I'll make it up to you next time, boss," replied Morgan with a wave of his hand. His nose had stopped bleeding by now. He hurriedly wiped the rest of the blood away from his face, crumbled the tissue, and carelessly threw it onto the floor.

"There will be no next time."

"What?" asked Morgan, who looked up and smirked at Brendan, "What are you gonna do about it now? I could take you down right here, right now."

Brendan didn't reply. Instead, he simply pressed a button on his cane. Glass panels surrounded Morgan instantly. Morgan dropped the bag and banged on the glass with his fists and shouted curses at Brendan. Brendan slowly walked toward the glass and looked at him.

"Do you know what happens when you mix calcaticium with nefertitium?"

"Of course I do, you bastard. It makes toxicatic gas."

"Good. Then I don't have to explain what you'll be seeing in the next few seconds," stated Brendan as he pressed another button. A long, silver claw reached out from the ceiling and grabbed the plastic bag that Morgan had dropped. Seconds later, the claw disappeared and reappeared next to Brendan, who took the bag and pocketed it into his suit.

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm your greatest apprentice. How can you do this to me?!?!"

Brendan turned to Morgan with pleasure and delight twinkling in his eyes.

"You're useless to me now, Tarrot. I have someone else who's much more well-suited for future jobs."

"You were the one who didn't push the button! If you did, then-" Morgan stopped as he saw a small flash of what looked like lightning combine the two gases to form the deadly and ever so painful yellow one.

"AAAAGGGGGHHHH!" screamed Morgan as the gas entered his nostrils. Absolutely nothing could compare to the pain that Morgan was feeling now. Morgan slumped to the ground, clutching his throat-his eyes tearing, his heart beating ever so faster in fear and panic, his lungs burning. Any normal being would have felt his heart wrenching in guilt, but Brendan didn't even wince. He just walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Two bodyguards on either side of the door walked out of the way with their heads bent toward Brendan-as if he was some sort of god.

Brendan stepped forward. Then he turned his head slightly to his right.

"You know what to do," he replied. The bodyguards nodded. Brendan walked away with a smile playing on his lips as Morgan's blood-curdling screams continued to reverberate off the pale green walls.

Author's Note: Well, here is your new chappie! I know it took a while, but school has been torture. Lot of work and everything. Please reviews a must! This isn't going to be as action-packed as my old story, so I'm sorry to disappoint anyone who wanted a lot of action. Thanks again!


	11. Two Old Faces

'_Ow,'_ thought Peter as he cleaned his wounds. He quickly applied the liquid stitches on. _'Thank god that they invented these things a couple years ago. Normally, I'd be in the hospital right now trying to come up with an excuse to the two odd wounds that I apparently got from another "mugging"...Who was that guy? And what did he want with John Jameson?' _Peter heard the phone ring and walked across the room.

"Hello?"

"Oh, god, Peter! You're OK!" Peter slightly frowned. He couldn't exactly pinpoint the voice although it did seem familiar. The only person he could think of who would call him was MJ...unless...Peter's eyes went wide.

"Gwen? Gwen Stacy?"

"How long did it take you to figure that one out, genius?"

"No, I'm just...surprised that's all. I mean, it's been a while."

"Tell me about it. Like four months?"

"Yeah...so, how are you?"

"Everything's going great, actually. My dad's been doing better, and my best friend from fourth grade moved into the city. What about you?"

"Things are good."

"So what are you doing for Thanksgiving? That's tomorrow, you know."

"MJ and I are going over to Aunt May's, and we're gonna celebrate. Have a little get together, chat, and stuff. You?"

"Well, Dad still has to work tomorrow, so my friend and I decided to just hang out. It's kinda selfish of me, but sometimes, I wish Dad wasn't a part of the force. It's a 24/7 kind of thing."

"No, not at all." Peter paused shortly when a bright idea came to him. "Hey," said Peter with a bit of enthusiasm, "Why don't you and your friend come over to our house for Thanksgiving?"

"Oh, I don't think MJ will-"

"Of course, she'll be OK with it."

"Ah, geesh, Peter-"

"No, it'll give all of us a chance to talk-even though my aunt hardly knows you, but still...what do you say?"

There was a short pause. "Why not?"

"Great!" said Peter with a small grin, "It's settled then. Meet us at my aunt's apartment. The address is 317 Madison Avenue, and it's at the corner of East 42nd Street."

"All right. I'll see ya then!"

"Great! I'll be looking forward to it."

_'I'm sure MJ won't mind,' _thought Peter as he walked to his desk.

* * *

MJ walked out of the Moon Dance Café. After the talk with her agent, she went to the diner to get a cup of coffee and to talk to an old friend of hers who, unfortunately, still worked there. But, no matter what she did, she kept thinking about Peter. Ever since she had known that Peter was Spiderman, there wasn't a day that went by without her worrying. It had almost been three years, but she kept replaying that scene at the bridge. It was weird. It hadn't bothered her so much about a year ago, but now, since she knew who Spiderman really was, she was more afraid than ever. Everyday, she kept replaying that sensation of falling to a watery grave, and Spiderman-Peter-nearly dying at the hands of a madman.

She was walking so quickly that she didn't notice someone shouting her name. She felt an arm grab hers and stiffened. She held her purse tightly, turned around, and swung it with full force. The person stumbled back, and she was about to swing at him again when she realized who'd she hit.

"Oh my god! Harry! I'm so sorry!" She covered her mouth with her hand in horror. She quickly helped him straighten up.

"Hi, MJ...Quite a swing you've got there," said Harry as he shook his head to get rid of the lights blinking in front of his eyes.

"How are you?" asked MJ with pleasure twinkling in her eyes at seeing an old friend. She took a quick scan of him. He never looked better in ages. He looked healthy, and he actually seemed happy.

"Good. Oscorp's doing all right, and I'm dating Liz."

"Liz Allen?! From high school?" asked MJ with surprise. Last time, Harry Osborn thought Liz was a snob, and Liz Allen thought Harry was a rich stuck-up.

Harry nodded. "I'm also thinking about leaving the city."

That comment caught MJ by surprise. "What? Why?"

Harry shrugged it off as it was not such a big deal. MJ knew Harry better, though.

"This is about Peter, isn't it? You can't handle the fact that he's..."

"That has nothing to do with my leaving!" snapped Harry. He immediately regretted his comment, though. Harry took a deep breath to calm himself down. "That really has nothing to do with this, MJ."

"Look, running away from your problems won't-"

MJ stopped and noticed that his fingers were intertwined. She knew that he never did that unless he was extremely nervous. "It's not Peter," he whispered, "It's you, MJ. I love Liz with my entire heart, but I love you with my entire being, and I just can't stand to see you with Peter of all people," he whispered-his eyes boring a hole through her very being.

At first, MJ's eyes softened. She felt sympathetic towards Harry. She didn't love him, but she knew what it felt like when the one that you loved rejected you.

"MJ," asked Harry with anger boiling in his eyes, "how can you be dating someone so selfish? He kept the truth from you, and the absence of truth is the same as a lie."

"He did it for a good reason, and your father did the same, Harry Osborn, for pure personal gain. Peter is not being selfish at all."

"You know, you and I should probably turn him into the police-"

"Unbelievable! Just unbelievable!" screamed MJ as she raised her hands into the air in exasperation. "I thought you were different than your father, Harry. I thought you were better than him. Face it, Harry. Peter's Spi-" MJ realized that people were staring at her as they walked by and stopped herself in mid-sentence. "Peter's...a hero, and if you're going to let something so trivial get in the way of our friendship-if you can't deal with the fact that your best friend is risking his life for others who don't give a damn about him-if you can't deal with the fact that you would have been dead by now if it weren't for him-if you don't realize the grief that he's had to endure because of people like you-if you can't handle any of that, then I'm sorry, Harry Osborn, but you are a selfish bastard who cares more for a father who treated you like a piece of shit than a friend who would be willing to help you."

Refusing to hear anymore of Harry's comments, she turned on her heel and walked away-tears sliding down her face. This was when acting came in handy: When you were turning your back on an old friend because you knew it was the right thing to do in order to maintain your relationship with your fiancée, but still feeling guilty nonetheless for stating words that you didn't really mean-words that you knew would sting, but hopefully, knock some sense into him. _'God, Harry...I'm so sorry.'_

If Mary Jane had turned around, she would have seen Harry's eyes reflect the same pain and hurt in her eyes. Harry sighed and turned to see his Rolls Royce pulling up. His eyes hardened, and he quickly ran his hand through his hair. _'Hide the pain, Osborn. You've got a company to run, and some costumed freak and an old girlfriend can't stop progress.' _

Author's Note: This is probably the second to last time that you'll ever hear about either Harry or John Jameson again. I'm not really gonna give them such big roles or anything in this story...I'm not sure but I think I might actually quit this story...I don't feel like it's as smooth as the old one, and there are way too many plots and characters jumbled into it. I feel like the story's kinda rushing through everything without focusing on one major plot...I might revise the entire thing. It depends...Anyway, thanx so much for the reviews


	12. A New Danger: Part Two

Felicia Hardy sat on the ledge of the roof dressed as the Black Cat. The Kingpin had wanted her to stay there for some purpose. While waiting for her orders, she thought how ironic it was that someone like her should suddenly become a villain terrorizing the city. Her mother had donated much money to foundations that supported research for breast cancer, AIDS, and schizophrenia, and she, herself, just created an after-school program for mentally challenged children. _"Boy, it's funny how one sentence can change your life,"_ thought Felicia-recalling the bittersweet e-mail that she had received a month ago. Suddenly, a voice interrupted her thoughts. She quickly tapped onto her earpiece.

"Go to where they're preparing for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade," replied the Kingpin, "We've got business to attend to."

She quickly stood up and fired a cable from her metal contraption. In mere seconds, she was there-crouched atop the building of a bank. She quickly surveyed the scene, but nothing seemed out of place.

"Where is he?" asked Felicia as she surveyed the scene again-looking for any signs of unfamiliarity. At that moment, a green glimmer caught her eyes.

"There you are," she whispered as she smirked. She was the Black Cat; nothing could escape from her. Apparently, the Kingpin didn't hear her and started to state where he was.

"He's-" At that moment, a loud bang shot through the air as people started screaming. Felicia rose to see a man with green tentacles around him. Before his feet, there lay an unconscious police officer with blood surrounding him. Felicia immediately jumped off the ledge and landing gracefully in front of the menace.

"Hey, aren't you Doc-" shot Felicia as she eyed this familiar figure.

"No, but close try," smirked the man as his tentacles lunged for her. She quickly flipped away.

"You're a fast one," he said as he walked towards her. She realized that he never once used his tentacles to walk with, and unlike Doc Ock's, they had sharp ends at the side.

"You've got no idea," she said. She quickly jumped away from his tentacles again and ran towards him. The slippery sidewalk gave her an idea. Instead of hitting him, she quickly pressed her boots together and slid under his legs-which were spread apart-and grabbed what she was looking for: a plastic bag with a black rock from his coat pocket. Pedestrians quickly ran away as she quickly pressed the claws from her right glove to the sidewalk. Immediately, long claw marks-like those on a blackboard that had just been scratched by a cat-appeared as she skidded to a stop a few feet away. She quickly stood up and looked behind at her stunned opponent. She winked.

"Catch ya later," she said as she was about to swing away.

"You're not getting away that easily!" screamed her opponent. Suddenly, before she could even push the button for the cable's release, green tentacles twirled her around and pulled her close to him. Although the grip of the tentacles were firm, they never once actually wrapped around her. When she was close to his face, she saw the serene face with one blue eye, one green eye, and red hair dangling in front of his eyes.

"Ms. Hardy, I'll cherish this moment," he whispered as the sharp ends of the tentacles were inserted into her. She was about to ask how he knew her name when she felt a cold stream of fluid entering her body. Her eyes bulged, and they slightly began to roll back. Her heart beat ever so faster, and she could feel shivers running up and down her spine. In her surprise, she dropped the bag holding the rock.

"What...are...you...doing?" gasped Felicia as he bent over and pocketed the black rock safely into his pocket. All the while, his tentacles were still seeping the cold fluid into her, holding her straight, upright, and high above his head. She felt heavy, and her heart felt as if it would literally burst. It was beating abnormally fast for an ordinary being. A smirk appearing on the man's face. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, a red and blue blur kicked him.

The push caused the weird madman to roll over, but his tentacles still held onto Felicia-still pumping the cold fluid into her ever so painful body. She screamed as sheer pain, horror, and terror gripped her; nothing was worth this much pain if it meant that she wasn't going to see her father alive again.

Gloved hands quickly ripped her violently away. Oddly, the four places that each tentacle inserted into her body didn't drip blood. Her heart was still beating dangerously fast, she was weak, and she couldn't feel anything. White opaque lenses stared over her face as she closed her eyes.


	13. Friend or Foe?: Part One

Spiderman looked over the Black Cat with concern. Whatever the villain did had an immediate effect on her. He knew that she was just as strong as he was, and if she was suffering that much, then he'd probably face the same situation if that man's tentacles ever got a hold of him. His spider sense warned him that the tentacles were close.

He flipped aside as the tentacles clashed into each other. He saw the red-haired man draw them apart and the tentacles headed for him again. Spiderman quickly used his arms as a spring, turned upside down, and flipped right side up again. He quickly shot gossamer balls at his opponent's face, whose face contorted into a dozen or so wrinkles of pain.

"Man, and I thought the Mets were bad," replied Spiderman as he smiled underneath his mask.

"ARRRGGGGH!" screamed the madman as his tentacles lunged for Spidey again, who quickly shot web strands at his tentacles. The man easily tore them apart. Spidey was ready for another attack when instead two of his tentacles lunged for the Black Cat. Without thinking, he quickly jumped in front of her, and the tentacles slickly tore through his costume and made contact with his skin. Immediately, they started seeping a fluid into him-causing sheer pain to course through his body. Even though the madman's tentacles were holding him up, he felt his legs give way as he knelt onto the ground, clutching his sides tightly. Underneath the mask, his teeth were gritted-fighting every urge to scream. He tried to pull the tentacles out, but he couldn't move his arms, which were clutching his sides tightly instead. He groaned lowly. Darkness clouded his vision.

Suddenly, he heard the distant sound of a bolt of lightning and a woman's voice. The tentacles withdrew and the pain immediately ceased as Spidey fell flat onto the ground. He slowly shook his head and quickly pushed himself up. He saw a tall, lean women with wavy brown hair, and a group of people dressed in police uniforms standing behind her as the madman slowly stood up-apparently, he had been stunned.

"Don't move, Adrenaline!" barked the woman with her gun raised at him. Instead of protesting, he simply raised one of his tentacles to throw a small red object onto the ground. Black smoke suddenly shrouded the area in thick, black smoke.

Despite this, Spiderman could still see where Adrenaline was going while the woman and the others were coughing and squinting. Suprisingly, he was able to release a web strand and swing high above the crowd even though his head was throbbing painfully. He saw Adrenaline heading for the East Side. Spidey quickly let go of his web strand and landed in front of Adrenaline, who didn't stop running. Instead, his tentacles lunged for him. Spiderman quickly jumped on top of them, using them as a support, and kicked Adrenaline with full force in the face, who stumbled back; his face pouring blood.

At that moment, a green jet appeared above them. One of Adrenaline's long tentacles grabbed onto the jet's wings, and the tentacle pulled Adrenaline up. Spidey thrust his wrist forward when he suddenly heard a woman scream out his name.

He whirled to see the same woman that had aimed a gun at Adrenaline running towards him. Realizing that it wasn't of the utmost urgency, he turned his attention back to the jet and released a web strand, which snagged the underside of the jet. Suddenly, he felt a bolt of electricity stun his still-aching body. He fell for the second time flat on his face as the jet roared away.

Spidey quickly got up to meet the end of the gun, which was smoking. Behind it was the face of the woman who had shot Adrenaline. _'Great,' _thought Peter as he knew that she was going to attempt to arrest him next. To his surprise, though, she slowly lowered it. That gave Peter enough time to realize that she had let Adrenaline escape. His anger boiled over.

"What was that for?!? I was going to get him!" screamed Peter angrily as the woman maintained her posture.

"He's none of your concern," she replied calmly as she placed the gun into her belt.

"Of course he is! He hurt an innocent officer and a woman! And he isn't going to stop or care if he hurts anyone else!" cried Peter as he flung his arms into the air.

"You have no idea what you're getting-"

"Yes, I do! I've been doing this for three years!"

"And we've been doing it for a decade," replied the woman.

Spiderman stared at her in disbelief. Not that she could tell, of course.

"Yeah, sure. If that's true, then why don't you tell me who '_we_' are?"

"Why don't you tell me who _you_ are?" shot the woman. Spidey stood there silent. The woman arched her brow triumphantly, "Thought so. Look, I don't like the fact that Adrenaline escaped as much as you do, but you're getting involved in important matters that don't concern you-"

"If innocent lives are in danger, then they do concern me," shot Spidey angrily.

"Innocent lives don't matter in this case, so butt out. This is a warning, Spiderman. Believe me, you don't want to cross the line with us."

"How can you say that?" screamed Peter, "You'd risk the lives of innocents to get what you guys want?"

"If it's for the greater good, then yes...You're too soft on issues like this. You're not professional enough, so stay out," said the woman as she pointed a finger at him. She quickly turned on her heel and coolly walked away. She could hear that Spiderman was about to walk towards him, and she placed a firm hand onto her gun. If he was going to argue further, she'll just stun him again. Instead, she heard the familiar _thwip! _sound and knew that Spiderman had swung away.

She quickly pulled out her walkie-talkie. "Fury, we've got to get rid of Spiderman-even if it means killing him."


	14. Friend or Foe?: Part Two

Nick Fury angrily slammed his fist onto the table. It was an extremely frustrating week for Fury and his organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. He was on the trail of the two biggest crime lords known in New York City: the Kingpin and the Guillotine. So far, the Kingpin had been subdued, and he hadn't made a move, but the Guillotine was an entirely different story. Not only had he increased his crime ring, but also he had gotten his hands on the alien symbiote that Fury had desperately tried to protect. Although he couldn't track down the Guillotine, he knew that the Guillotine didn't know the symbiote's properties and needed a professional scientist to discover its properties. Until then, Fury had some time, but how much time did he have until it was too late?

"Fury," a voice interrupted, "we've got to get rid of Spiderman-even if it means killing him."

"Jan, what happened?" asked Fury, who listened intently for the next three minutes as Jan reiterated the basic gist of what happened.

"How could Spiderman be so concerned about an individual's life when the greater good is in danger?" asked Jan.

"I don't know, but we've got to kill him...he's getting in our way, and we can't allow for any more mistakes in our next mission. When you spot him again, Jan, exterminate him."

* * *

Aunt May set the timer on the oven after she basted the turkey. Her new apartment was small and comfy, and although it was in a busy sector of Manhattan, the security was pretty tight, so she felt safe for the most part. She sighed. She was afraid that she may never see it again; her doctors had told her that she had to undergo coronary bypass surgery in a few days or else she might suffer from a heart attack. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. She quickly pulled her oven mitts off and rushed to the door.

"Peter! Mary Jane!" exclaimed Aunt May with joy as she greeted the young couple.

"Hi, Aunt May," replied Peter as he leaned over to give her a gentle kiss.

"How are you?" asked MJ as she did the same. Peter walked around and took a deep breath. "Wow...that smells great!"

"I'm fine, MJ...what about you?"

"Good," said MJ with a smile. Aunt May turned to see Peter reach for the pumpkin pie. She playfully smacked his hand, and Peter pretended to look hurt. "You can't have any until the others get here."

"The others?" asked MJ with an arched eyebrow.

"Peter-don't tell me you didn't tell MJ," scolded Aunt May. Peter slightly blushed and turned to meet a slightly irritated MJ with her arms folded across her chest. Aunt May looked between Peter and MJ and decided it was best for her to leave, so she quietly walked into the kitchen. She heard some protests from MJ and some soft-spoken replies from Peter. Then there was a loud knocking.

She heard the shuffling of feet and Peter's voice greeting Gwen. She decided it was safe to enter the dining room. When she opened the door, she saw a thin blonde girl. She turned to see Mary Jane and Peter's arms entwined within each other's. Whatever conflict emerged was resolved by now..."_Unless Mary Jane is faking it...after all, she had hidden her emotions from her neighbors for her entire life_," thought Aunt May worriedly.

She heard the timer set off and quickly walked back into the kitchen. She heard Peter and that Gwen girl talking with each other, but she realized that MJ wasn't talking at all...which only caused her to worry more. She took the turkey out, forced a slight smile for MJ's sake, and walked into the dining room, where everyone was seated around a table full of different, colorful side dishes. She thought Peter's eyes seemed to reflect a hint of distress, but like MJ, Peter was good at hiding his emotions, so she could never really tell. Peter turned towards her and quickly got up.

"Aunt May, let me help you with that."

"No, Peter. Don't worry."

"Are you-" Aunt May looked up at him with a "don't-ask-again" look.

Peter took the hint and let Aunt May place it onto the table-although he followed closely behind. After everyone was seated, they said grace and began to eat. There was much conversation, but she realized that MJ didn't talk much.

"That was great, Ms. Parker," said Gwen with a smile after everything was finished.

"Call me Aunt May." She smiled. Gwen was extremely polite, and she seemed nice. She quickly glanced at Peter, who was trying to nudge MJ a little, but MJ remained silent.

"Do you mind if I watch the parade, Aunt May?" asked Gwen.

"Not at all," replied Aunt May.

"Great!" said Gwen enthusiastically as she walked over to the next room. Before she went in, she peeked her head into the silent dining room.

"Well?" asked Gwen, expecting them to follow. Aunt May stood up as well as Peter and MJ, who seemed slightly stiff and unenthusiastic.

They followed an overly bouncy Gwen, who plopped onto the couch and reached for the remote. Aunt May and MJ sat on the couch with Gwen. Peter sat on a nearby chair-all the time keeping his attention on MJ.

* * *

"Happy Thanksgiving to all New Yorkers!" screamed the newscaster on the television.

The camera swerved around to reveal children waving enthusiastically. Suddenly, a loud boom was heard. The camera swerved again to reveal police officers trying to fire at a feisty Adrenaline.

* * *

Peter snapped his head back, and his eyes widened to see Adreanaline on the TV. _'No, this can't be happening. I must be dreaming...' _Peter knew, though, that it was far from a dream as Adrenaline started to fling several police officers at the window of Joe's Pizza.

MJ looked up at Peter with a worried expression on her face. Gwen tried to pretend that she didn't know what was going on, but from Gwen's eyes, it was obvious that she, too, knew what was going to happen as she felt the pit of her stomach drop.

"I just remembered, everyone, that...um...I had to...take...some...uh.... pics for the.... Bugle...gotta run or else JJ's gonna...have...a...major...fit." Peter knew that Aunt May was the only one in the room who didn't realize who the hell Peter actually was, so he had to come up with some excuse. _'No matter how lame it is,' _thought Peter. Peter quickly dashed for the door. When suddenly, MJ screamed, "Peter, wait!"

Peter turned to see MJ running towards him.

"You can't go!"

"But, MJ, I have to-"

"But Peter, I don't want you to get hurt. Can't someone-"

"MJ, you know-"

Suddenly, a shriek emerged from the TV. Peter turned his head and saw a little girl screaming for her mother, who was being held hostage by Adrenaline. He held the woman with all four of his green tentacles high above his head.

"Anyone comes near me with a gun, and I'll kill this girl's mother!"

"Mommy!" screamed the girl as a police officer struggled to hold her back.

"End of discussion," said Peter firmly as he ran through the door in lightning speed. Even after Peter was long gone, MJ continued to stare after him with tears silently running down her face.


	15. Friend or Foe?: Part Three

Felicia Hardy sat on the floor of her bedroom with her eyes closed and her legs crossed underneath her. The night before when she had finally come to, she was in the Kingpin's mansion. She remembered thinking that it was over for her and her father, but surprisingly, the Kingpin just dismissed her. _'Something's up, and I know it,'_ thought Felicia as she continued to sit on the floor with her eyes closed.

"Breathe in and out as you focus on the sensation of relaxation," said the woman in the yoga video.

_'Of course, if you live in New York, there can't be a moment of relaxation_,' thought Felicia grimly. As if on cue, she heard a loud shout. She immediately opened her eyes and heard a girl scream for her mother. She calmly and coolly walked over to the window and saw Adrenaline holding a hostage. Normally, she'd just walk past that kind of stuff. That's what she did when Doc Ock was rampaging around the city, but the girl's urgent scream made her realize that she could actually do something about it. She could actually HELP her. She had power, and she had a choice.

Instead of turning back to her yoga pose, she quickly walked out of the room, and making sure no one noticed her presence, sheran up the stairs. After running up three flights without breaking a sweat, she kicked the door to the roof open. She looked down at the crowd below, and in a blink of an eye, she changed into her Black Cat costume.

"And here I come," whispered Felicia as she pushed herself toward the air. She felt the sensation of falling, and the wind rushing past her ears. As she grabbed the closest pole, she saw Adrenaline about to pierce the tentacles into the little girl's mother. She knew she wasn't going to make it; so instead, she quickly let go of the pole and tossed a black cable toward Adrenaline's tentacle.

* * *

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU ASSHOLES!" screamed Adrenaline. He was getting so annoyed. He didn't have much time left. In fact, he only had several days to get the specimen to some stupid scientist named Dr. Connors. The policemen continued to hold their guns up to him. He smirked maliciously. 

"I warned you," said Adrenaline as he began to place his tentacles into the woman's body as the little girl screamed.

Suddenly, he felt something thick and hard aimed at one of his tentacles, and then another, and another, and another. Adrenaline clenched his teeth at the pain traveling up his spine, but he still maintained a tight hold on the woman. He looked up to see a familiar black figure soaring through the sky.

"_Her again?" _he thought to himself as he saw her land in front of him with ease. He smirked again.

"So, you've come back?" asked Adrenaline.

"Let her go," replied Felicia with an icy glare.

"Or what? You'll hurt me? I don't think so!" said Adrenaline. Adrenaline craved for the moment that he would kill Ms. Hardy, and this was it. '_Last time, she was lucky, but not this time.' _He immediately ignored his hostage and dropped her to the ground as two of his tentacles reached for Felicia, who swiftly avoided them. She knew what would happen once those tentacles made contact with her, and she didn't want to experience that again. Little did she know that that one action would haunt her life forever.

* * *

"Mommy!" screamed the little girl with joy and relief as her mother was dropped to the ground. The officer still held onto her tightly. She suddenly grew angry and anxious.She bit the officer's hand and stomped on his foot as the officer yelped and let go of her. She took the opportunity to run towards her mother. 

She ran towards her mother, who quickly began looking for her daughter. Suddenly,the little girl sawgreen tentacles pass the woman in the black suit and head straight for her. She screamed as the tentacles made contact with her and felt the cold liquid enter her body. It didn't take long as her heart beat so fast that it literally burst. As she felt herself fading away, she heard screams and shouts and the rush of wind flowing past her ears.

* * *

Spiderman furiously shot web strand after web strand, trying to get to the little girl in time. 

'_I can't believe MJ tried to talk me out of this one,' _thought Peter angrily. How could she do that when she knew why he did what he did? Peter pushed the thought out of his mind as he tried to locate the girl and Adrenaline. In no time, he saw Adrenaline and the Black Cat fighting each other.

'_Something's going on between those two...' _thought Spiderman as he saw the Black Cat move away from Adrenaline's tentacles. Peter felt his spider sense tingling, and underneath his mask, his eyes went wide as he saw the little girl colliding with the tentacles. Without thinking of the danger, Peter quickly dived for the girl, grabbed a post, and landed onto the ground.

* * *

"Sarah!" screamed her mother. Adrenaline was ready to lunge at the mother with his other two tentacles when he saw Spiderman quickly grab both of them in front of his very eyes.

* * *

'_Please, please, please...not today...don't...' _thought Spiderman as he grabbed both the girl and her mother and ran towards the closest police officer, who was oddly massaging his left hand with his right. 

"What the hell are you doing?! Take her and get her to a hospital fast!" screamed Spidey as he shoved the girl into his arms. Spidey quickly, but gently placed the mother next to the officer, who seemed to jerk alive at the weight of the little girl in his arms. The officer ran into the screaming, chaotic mass of people as the mother followed close behind.

Meanwhile, Spiderman turned his focus back toward Adrenaline and the Black Cat. He grew angrier at the sight of Adrenaline's smirk. Spidey aimed four web balls successively, which Adrenaline caught...or rather pierced...with his four tentacles.

Before Peter could do anything more, Adrenaline pressed a red button on a silver device.

"Nightie-night, Spiderman," chuckled Adrenaline as he disintegrated into thin air.

"NO!" screamed Spidey with frustration as he shot a web strand at Adrenaline with no success because it went right through Adrenaline's disintegrating body. He tried again, but by that time, Adrenaline had disappeared. He angrily turned his attention back to the Black Cat, who stood there looking stunned.

"What the hell is your problem? You could have helped her!" screamed Spidey with a wave of his hand. He was beyond control, beyond caring. The only two emotions he could feel at that moment were bitter anger and a growing sense of failure.

"I-I-I-didn't know-"

"Didn't know what?" screamed Spiderman angrily as he walked toward her, "Are you obsessed with your little game that you didn't realize the innocent lives you might have hurt or killed? Is that it? Answer me!" Spidey was so emotionally distraught and angry about the fact that he didn't reach the girl in time that he didn't realize the look of true sorrow on the Black Cat's face and a spark of anger in her eyes. He didn't even realize the strong tingling sensation at the bottom of his neck.

He walked closer to her, but he felt a hot searing pain in his right shoulder, and instantly, he dropped to his knees. He felt warm liquid seeping through his costume as blood dropped onto the street.

He tried to get up, but he felt another searing pain in his left leg, and another in his right. The world around him began to revolve in a thousand circles as he wavered slightly from side to side before hitting the hard, cold concrete below with a soft thud.

**Author's Note: Hey, people. Hope you like this chappie! Sorry that I didn't update for forever. Btw, Mark C, you'll find the answer to your question later. Sorry, but I don't wanna spoil anything, and plus, sometimes, I change a lot of my original ideas. Thanx again to everyone who reviewed last time; it means a lot to me. :)**


	16. Friend or Foe?: Part Four

"JAN! Adrenaline at the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade!" screamed Fury.

Jan, who was eating a bagel in a small cafe, dropped it and walked out of the store calmly. Once she was outside, that walk turned into a jog, which turned into a brisk run.

"Hey! WHAT ABOUT MY MONEY!" screamed Enrique as he shook his fist at the running woman, who didn't seem to hear anything.

Jan quickly ran to the scene. She saw Spiderman trying to fight Adrenaline, but before she said anything, Adrenaline disappeared. She blinked and saw Spiderman screaming to a woman in a tight, black costume. She didn't care what Spiderman was doing at this point. She had another chance to get that specimen, but because of HIS interference, she missed another golden opportunity.

She took out her shot gun that contained bullets full of venomous toxin, and without giving her actions a second thought, she shot Spidey three times. Once in his shoulder, another in his leg, and another in his other leg. She waved her hand slightly in front of herself in order to get rid of the heavy smoke that arose from the end of the gun.

Before she could call up Fury on her miniature earplug, she saw the woman in the tight suit carry Spidey and release a thick black cable. Jan quickly pulled out her shotgun and aimed at her, but she narrowly missed it. She shot another and another as the woman with Spidey continued to dodge every single one of them with ease.

_'She's fast…VERY fast,' _thought Jan grimly as she continued to miss. After the twentieth one, she tried to reload as quickly as possible, but by the time she looked up, the woman had disappeared.

"AAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!" screamed Jan, which was easily drowned out by the people who were screaming and shouting around her. She heard sirens nearby, and she quickly ran into the chaotic crowd as the police arrived at the scene of the crime.

* * *

Gwen Stacy stared at MJ's back for the longest time with concern. Aunt May had gone into the kitchen several minutes earlier. The TV was still on…no one felt like turning it off.

_'God, is it always like this?' _thought Gwen as MJ finally closed the door, crossed her arms across her chest, and leaned on the door with her eyes closed.

Suddenly, there were screams and shouts emerging from the television. Gwen looked at it and saw Peter enter the scene as Spiderman. Gwen couldn't help but smile with a small hint of pride, but when she remembered MJ, she stopped. She was worried, but unlike MJ, Gwen had more confidence in Peter, and she was sure that he'd always come back…until there was another loud bang that didn't come from the screaming people.

Gwen turned to see Peter kneeling on the concrete sidewalk with his hand on his shoulder. Her eyes went wide as she put her hand over her open mouth. She didn't want to worry MJ anymore than she already was, but it was too late. At that point, MJ's eyes were already open, and she realized that something terrible had happened.

Mary Jane quickly walked over to the TV as Gwen reached for the remote. Gwenswiftly turned the TV off as MJ made her way to Gwen.

"Gwen, give me the remote," said MJ.

"Um...MJ, I think you need a little rest. Maybe you should stop watching-"

"There's no point in hiding what I already know, Gwen."

"Um....he's gonna be OK, trust me. He's a little....uh....banged up...." Gwen stopped herself as she mentally rolled her eyes. '_Nice choice of words, Gwen_,' she thought to herself.

"What just happened?" asked Aunt May as she entered the living room.

"Um, nothing, Ms. Parker....uh...Spiderman....has a little problem on his hands," said Gwen.

"Gwen, Aunt May knows that Peter's Spiderman."

"She does?!?!?" asked Gwen with raised eyebrows. She dropped the remote at that moment, which MJ quickly grabbed.

Gwen felt like kicking herself. She didn't want MJ to worry, and now, both MJ and Aunt May were going to stress out over Peter. MJ pressed the button as Gwen stared helplessly.

"Here's a video of what happened several minutes earlier," announced Al Roker.

All three women watched the scene replay in front of their eyes when Spiderman made the grand entrance. MJ saw Peter saving the girl too late, and then she saw him walking toward the Black Cat. She couldn't hear what he was saying because of the shouts and screams, but she could tell Peter was definitely angry. Then, her heart stopped as she saw Peter falling to the ground and being whisked away by the Black Cat.

Aunt May watched with horror as she watched the same scene, where her only 'son' was being taken from her by a mad woman. At that moment, she felt her chest stop altogether. She clutched it and gasped. She felt like crying, like shouting-anything except the sound of silence, the sight of Peter being taken away, and the feeling of numbness that she felt right now. Everything revolved around her as her eyes closedand hit the floor with a thud.

Gwen was the first to react as she quickly turned and saw Aunt May sprawled on the floor. MJ quickly ran towards her as Gwen instinctively reached for her cell, which was on the table and dialed that infamous number: 911.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," said MJ with her hands shaking. She tried to make Aunt May comfortable for she didn't know what else she could do.

MJ turned to see Gen hang up her cell.

"When the fuck are they gonna get here?!!?!?" screamed MJ as she felt Aunt May's pulse slowly fading away.

"There's major traffic because of the incident," said Gwen, "They're not sure. They said if they're lucky they might get here in like ten minutes."

_"That's too late," _thought MJ. At that point, she felt helpless. Not only had Peter disappeared, but another person she cared about was going to die right in front of her eyes. She refused to let the tears spill. She wouldn't let fatedeal her these cards without afight. _'No, I won't let her go without a fight,'_ thought MJ.With renewed strength and determination, she got up and took her coat.

"What are you doing?" asked Gwen as she got up.

"I am not letting someone else I care about leave me in front of my eyes," said MJ as she grabbed her keys. She turned towards Gwen, "You gonna help me or not?"

Gwen mentally smiled at herself. MJ had finally decided to make choices instead of just standing by and crying.

"Count me in."

**Author's Note: Happy holidays to all of my faithful reviewers and readers! I know, I know...long time no see, but I thought since I have a little time, I could update starting today...it's kinda like a gift for u guys. Again, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**


	17. Friend or Foe?: Part Five

Felicia quietly took off her mask after laying Spiderman down on her bed. She stopped teh bleeding by tying pieces of cloth tightly. She wasn't sure who had shot those bullets.

She thought of taking off _his_ mask, but she did a double take. She had caused him enough stress already. The least she could do was to respect his privacy. As she reached for her brush, she heard a low groan and turned to see Spiderman rolling around on her bed. Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered the little girl whom she had let die-all over some stupid rock. She angrily threw the brush to the other side of the room, and it caused a huge dent to form.

_"Is this all worth it?" _thought Felicia as she clutched the sides of the dresser and stared at herself in the mirror. This had all been for her father, but was the life of a young girl over a stupid rock and a mad man with green tentacles all worth it?

"MJ...Uncle Ben." Felicia turned to see the superhero muttering words of people whom she didn't know. Her anger and her torture returned. If she didn't do something soon, she would have the death of another person on her soul and the cries of hundreds of people who cared and depended on him.

_"But what the hell am I supposed to do? I can't just saunter into a hospital," _thought Felicia. She slammed her fists onto the table in anger-not just at herself, but at the Kingpin and her father and her mother-for deceiving her all this time, for hiding the truth from her, and using her. She was sick of it, and she wanted to change it. Suddenly, the thought of an old family friend struck her.

Quickly, Felicia reached for her phone and stopped. _'Then she'll know that...' _She quickly placed it back on her receiver. She paced up and down and glanced at her alarm clock. It was hard to believe that almost three whole hours had passed since the incident. She knew that the superhero was passed out cold, and he was in a delirious state. Her anger boiled over as she felt useless, and if there was one thing Felicia despised, it was uselessness and helplessness.

_"I'll have to risk it,"_ thought Felicia as she reached for the phone again and dialed her best friend's cell.

* * *

Gwen and MJ were both waiting anxiously in the hospital. It had definitely been one wild ride. MJ was crazy. She almost ran over a sidewalk trying to get to the closest hospital, and she nearly crashed into another car. Fortunately, both of them were very much alive, and there were no injuries. Now, the only thing that would calm them both was if Aunt May came out of this alive. 

Gwen couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. If she had held onto the remote, maybe, Aunt May would still be alive. _'Then again, she would have found out eventually...'_ Suddenly, her pink cell rang. MJ shot a quick glance at her.

Gwen shruggedas she pulled it out and stared at the number flashing on the screen. _"Felicia? Why would she be calling now?"_ She flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Gwen?"

"What's wrong, Felicia?" asked Gwen worriedly. Something was not right in her tone, and she could hear utter silence in the background. Usually, there was some sort of yoga video or music in the background.

"Come to my apartment now."

"Why? I have a big emergency here," said Gwen as she stared at MJ sitting down on a chair.

"Gwen, I can't explain now."

"Well, you better because I can't leave now. I'm pretty sure it can wait Felicia."

"I know you're mad at me because I couldn't get to see that "great friend" of yours, but I had something important to do, Gwen. Really, really important...uh...business matters."

Now, Gwen was mad. How could Felicia bring this up now? Most importantly, how could her best friend, Felicia Hardy, lie to her?Gwen knew that Felicia could care LESS about business matters. Felicianever was and never would be interested in business.At that moment, she forgot about Felicia's worried tone and the utter silence, and instead, she felt complete and total hatred towards Felicia.

"Felicia, what the hell is your problem?!? My friend's aunt is dying in the hospital right now! What could be more important than that?!?!" hissed Gwen in a low whisper, "I don't know what's gotten into you. You're never there when I want you to, and you make up these stupid lame excuses to cover up. You could at least tell me the TRUTH."

Felicia paused as she felt the words sting her and cut through her very being. Suddenly, she heard another soft moan escape the hero's lips. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _'I wish I could Gwen.'_

"Gwen, I can't tell you right now, but there's someone here who needs help, and it's not me."

"Yeah, right. I don't have time for games. Don't you dare call me again."

Before Felicia could further argue, Gwen hung up.

"Who was that?" asked MJ curiously as she walked towards Gwen.

Gwen quickly looked up after turning her cell off.

"No one important," replied Gwen with a forced smile.

* * *

Felicia stared at her phone as the low hum of her best friend hanging up on her filled the room.

"UGH!" screamed Felicia as she slammed it back. What the fuck was she gonna do now? Not only had Gwen not believed her, but she didn't trust Felicia anymore and didn't want to see or hear her. She had no one to turn to, and the only person who could have helped her was now pissed at her for 'lying.' She could go to the Kingpin for help, but he'd probably do something to Spiderman and cause him to go bad. She could turn to her mother, who would go nuts. She could try calling Gwen again, who would hang up on her for sure.

No, she had to figure this out on her own. How much more time was left though? Her fingers traced the hero's glove and she slowly pulled it off. His skin was so cold, so clammy, and so...deathly pale...that it scared her. She felt his pulse, which was still pretty steady, but slowly-ever so slowly-fading. At the rate that his pulse was beating now, she figured that she had about a day left.

She racked her brain for more sources-people she could turn to. Suddenly, Dr. Connors came up. Her Empire State professor was a surgeon, and although he had to give up his dream because he had lost his hand, he might be able to help her...somehow. She couldn't go to him as Felicia Hardy. He would realize thatsomething was going on, and it wouldn't take him long to figure it out. But, she could go to him as her alter ego.

**Author's Note: All right, happy new year everyone! I hope everyone still is reading, and I hope you enjoy it. I know...I haven't updated in a long time, and the break's nearly over. I promise that I'll update at LEAST monthly, though, from now on. All right, again, happy new year! 2005, here we come! LOL.**


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